In simple words, Identity Governance and Administration, or IGA, is a way companies manage who can access their important systems and data. This is very important for platforms like Salesforce, where sensitive business information like customer details, financial data, and health records are stored. IGA makes sure that the right people get the right access, and no one can misuse or access data they shouldn’t.

What Does IGA Do?

IGA helps companies to:

• Control Access by Roles: For example, a sales manager can see certain reports, but a sales representative can only see their own leads.
• Manage User Accounts: It helps create new accounts when employees join, change permissions if they switch roles, and disable accounts when they leave.
• Check Access Regularly: Regular reviews are done to make sure users still need the access they have. If not, their access is removed.
• Prevent Conflicts and Fraud: It avoids situations where one person can approve and also process the same transaction, reducing the chances of fraud.
• Keep Records for Audits: All changes in access are logged, so companies can prove they followed the rules during audits.

Why is IGA Important in Salesforce?

Salesforce is used by many departments and stores very sensitive data. Without good controls:

• People might get unauthorized access.
• Companies could break legal rules like GDPR or HIPAA.
• It would be hard to track who did what, risking data safety.
• There could be insider threats or accidental data leaks.

IGA helps avoid all these problems by strictly managing and monitoring who gets what access.

How Does IGA Work in Salesforce?

• User accounts are linked with HR systems or identity providers like Okta, so when someone joins, moves, or leaves the company, their access updates
• automatically. More details are in Salesforce’s User and Access Management Overview."
• Managers regularly review access rights and approve or remove permissions as needed.
• Salesforce’s built-in roles, profiles, and permission sets are used smartly to give only necessary access.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of login security.
• Policies ensure that conflicting permissions are never given to the same user.

Best Practices to Follow

• Work together with IT, HR, and compliance teams to design access policies.
• Use Salesforce’s tools for roles and permission sets carefully to avoid giving excessive access.
• Always enforce MFA and conduct access reviews on a quarterly or semi-annual basis.
• Document your access rules and processes clearly for transparency and audits.
• Automate as much as possible to reduce manual errors and delays.

Conclusion

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) is essential for any business using Salesforce. It ensures only the right people have access to the right data, keeping the organization secure and compliant. Regular access checks, automated user management, and clear policies help reduce risks and build trust. By adopting strong IGA practices, companies protect their sensitive information and improve their overall security and efficiency.

Have any questions? Feel free to drop an email to support@astreait.com or visit astreait.com to schedule a consultation.